DESCRIPTION (taken from the application): The purpose of this conference is to bring together scientists from around the world who are conducting research on skeletal muscle satellite cells. Satellite cells are the postnatal muscle precursor cells that are responsible for normal muscle growth and development, muscle regeneration, and work-induced hypertrophy. During normal fiber growth and in work-induced hypertrophy, satellite cells divide, differentiate and fuse with adjacent fibers; the result is the addition of nuclei to fibers. Following injury to muscle, satellite cells are activated to divide, differentiate and either form new fibers or repair damaged segments of existing fibers. The developmental and physiological circumstances where these activities are important are numerous and range from disease processes, to physical activity, to normal human and animal growth and development. It is stated that there has never been a conference devoted specifically to the biology of muscle satellite cells; research on these cells has been scattered throughout a variety of venues, with primary emphases on cell biology, aging, neuromuscular disease, agriculture or exercise and sports science. As a result, there has been inadequate exchange of information and ideas among scientists that work on satellite cells. The conference will be held August 13 - 16, 1998 in Boston, MA, at the Swissotel. Topics include a keynote lecture the first evening, followed by two and one half days of workshop sessions. There will be an average of two invited speakers per session and the balance of each session will be composed of short, informal research presentations and discussions by participants. Sessions will center on the following topics: (1) origins and lineages of satellite cells, (2) cellular regulation of satellite cells, (3) role of satellite cells in normal muscle growth, (4) role of satellite cells in regenerating muscle, (5) activity of satellite cells in muscle adaptation, exercise and aging, and (5) activity of satellite cells in muscle disease and therapies. The conference will assemble new and established investigators from a variety of sectors within biology in order to exchange ideas, facilitate collaborations and identify significant new issues in satellite cell research.